The present disclosure generally relates to antimicrobial hand sanitizers including alcohols that are effective in killing microorganisms while providing a moisturizing benefit to the user's skin. More particularly, the alcohol-based hand sanitizers include a high internal phase emulsion which allows moisturizers or skin protectants such as emollients and/or silicones to be stably incorporated into the sanitizer.
The notion of so called “germs” and germ transmission is well known by consumers. One of the best and easiest ways of preventing germ and/or disease transmission is by routinely washing one's hands. Recognizing the inconvenience or impossibility of such hand washing under certain circumstances, such as traveling conditions and/or time constraints, a number of manufacturers have introduced hand sanitizing products which sanitize skin surfaces without the need for water and/or drying towels.
Although alcohol and alcohol-containing sanitizers are known to possess bactericidal activity and to prevent infections, such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections in hospital settings, such sanitizers typically require the use of anywhere from 60% to 95% alcohol, such as ethanol, in order to be effective. Unfortunately, use of ethanol at these levels can be very drying to the skin. As such, continuous use of such products can leave the user's skin dry, often resulting in red, chapped, and cracked skin.
To improve a user's skin, many companies have conventionally included moisturizers, such as humectants, emollients, and the like, as additional components in their alcohol-based hand sanitizers. While lending some protection against drying of the skin, there are several drawbacks to these conventional sanitizers. For instance, conventional sanitizers comprising moisturizers or other hydrophobic skin protectants are unstable and tend to separate over extended periods of time. As a result, the added moisturizers or skin protectants do not remain evenly distributed throughout the sanitizer, rendering the moisturizing ability of the sanitizer ineffective. Additionally, the instability of the sanitizers may cause the formation of large oil layers on the skin and, as a result, the sanitizer may feel greasy and not aesthetically pleasing on the skin. Incorporation of moisturizers or skin protectants, such as emollients, directly into a sanitizer also requires additional processing steps, which adds to the complexity and cost of the manufacturing process.
The present disclosure addresses these problems by providing an alcohol-based hand sanitizer that is stable and provides a moisturizing benefit to the user's skin. In particular, it has been discovered that incorporating a high internal phase emulsion into an alcohol-based moisturizing hand sanitizer provides the sanitizer with stability and superior moisturization, without requiring additional steps during the manufacturing process.